Nikola Bundalo, a four-star big man in the 2025 class who held an offer from Syracuse basketball coaches from two years ago, has reopened his recruitment after de-committing from Big Ten Conference school Washington, according to various media reports.
The 6-foot-10 power forward/center was down to a final four of Michigan State, North Carolina, Ohio State and UConn, but then in late October of last year, Bundalo reopened his recruitment. He pledged to Washington about a month later but is now back on the market.
Would the Orange staff pursue Bundalo? Looking ahead to the 2025-26 season, the 'Cuse still has multiple scholarships available, and I'd love to see Syracuse basketball add another big man to its roster.
If I had to venture a guess, I don't think that the 'Cuse will make a run at Bundalo, but you never know. My friend Jamie Shaw, a top national analyst/scout with On3, had some intel on Bundalo in this piece from Tuesday.
Syracuse basketball's 2025-26 roster does include several power forwards/centers.
Bundalo picked up a scholarship offer from the Orange in May of 2023. A native of Ohio, he spent his senior year at the powerhouse Prolific Prep in Napa Valley, Calif., which finished the 2024-25 campaign as the No. 4 team in the country, according to top national analyst Paul Biancardi, who is ESPN's recruiting director.
Prolific Prep was one of 10 teams that, earlier this month, competed at the Chipotle Nationalsย in Fishers, Ind., near Indianapolis. As I noted in this column, numerous Syracuse basketball signees and recruiting targets also played at the 2025 Chipotle Nationals.
A top-30 national prospect and the No. 5 power forward in the 2025 class, per the industry-generated On3 Industry Ranking, Bundalo was one of 24 high school seniors who suited up in the annual McDonald's All-America game, which took place on April 1 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
For the Orange's 2025-26 roster, the 'Cuse currently has 11 scholarship players, with four scholarships still open. Two players from 2024-25 are returning, while Syracuse basketball coaches have landed five college transfers this off-season and a four-member 2025 class at the high school level.
If we're talking about power forwards/centers on the Orange's roster, they include:
Donnie Freeman, a rising sophomore
William Kyle lll, a junior transfer from UCLA
Sadiq White Jr., an incoming freshman
Ibrahim Souare, a redshirt freshman transfer from Georgia Tech
To reiterate, I don't expect Syracuse basketball to pursue Bundalo, although the 'Cuse absolutely could use another big man for the upcoming campaign.